The defending champions, New Zealand All Stars, faced a challenging start in the Rams Group of Companies 10th Sanatan World Cup in Sydney, ending their opening match against Melbourne in a 0-0 stalemate. Despite featuring prominent players such as Andrew Naicker, Aeron Singh, Sumeet Shankaran, and Sharavan Sharma, the Kiwis were unable to find the back of the net. They maintained possession and exerted significant pressure throughout the match but couldn’t convert their efforts into goals.
In other matches earlier in the day, Queensland and Wellington also played to a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, NZ Sanatan achieved a convincing 4-1 victory over Canberra. Lomawai and Waitakere concluded their match without scoring, ending in a 0-0 draw, while Nadi and Wellington City fought to a thrilling 3-3 tie.